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beckyyreadss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to read this book because I am patiently waiting to hear about any of Talia’s new work. I decided to try and read some of her old work in the meantime and saw The Princess Trap all over the book community and it was released as part of a series even though the characters don’t interact with each other. I was interested to see if I can finish this series on a high and it didn’t live up to my standards. The Brown Sisters are just unbeatable.
This book has two points of view. The first is Jasmine Allen and she believes in bad luck, great wine and the seductive power of a stiletto heel. What she doesn’t believe in is love. Her life is great without all that romance rubbish, until a plumbing disaster screws everything up and leaves Jasmine homeless. Lucky she has someone to turn to: her best friend Rahul. The second point of view is Rahul Khan and for the last seven years, he has followed three simple rules. 1. Don’t touch Jasmine if you can help it. 2. Don’t look at her arse in that skirt. 3. Don’t ever – ever – tell Jasmine that you love her. He should’ve added another rule: do not, under any circumstances, let Jas move into your house. Now Rahul is living with the friend that he can’t have, and it’s decimating his control. He knows their shared dinners aren’t dates, the late-night kisses as a mistake, and the tenderness in Jasmine’s gaze is only temporary. One wrong word could send his skittish best friend running. So why is he tempted to risk it all?
As always with Talia’s book, I love how she manages to write diverse characters, serious subjects, sexuality and mental health. I love her for it. In this book we have a son who is grieving over his father and trying to be the head of the household and definitely some form of mental health issue with the control aspect. Then you have a daughter who had been abandoned by his mother, which in turns makes her not be able to trust anyone and she struggles to form friendships or relationships that she only uses people for sex and that sex is a transactional thing. I liked the fact that Jasmine wasn’t ashamed about the fact that she likes hook up and that sex is a healthy thing. I liked the character development that happened individually and the fact that Rahul was learning to ease control and to speak his mind and that Jasmine learned how to trust people and to also speak her mind.
Just like the other books in this series, I felt like it was a bit rushed compared to the Brown Sisters Series and I felt like Jasmine's attraction suddenly came out of nowhere once she slept with Rahul. I would like a bit more of a slow-burn especially with them living together. I would have loved for some jealously to be a part of it. Like Rahul is seen with someone and Jasmine gets jealous. But it’s all just came from Rahul being jealous over a bartender talking to Jasmine.
I will carry on reading Talia’s work old or new no matter what and hopefully I will enjoy the next series or book that I will read of hers.
This book has two points of view. The first is Jasmine Allen and she believes in bad luck, great wine and the seductive power of a stiletto heel. What she doesn’t believe in is love. Her life is great without all that romance rubbish, until a plumbing disaster screws everything up and leaves Jasmine homeless. Lucky she has someone to turn to: her best friend Rahul. The second point of view is Rahul Khan and for the last seven years, he has followed three simple rules. 1. Don’t touch Jasmine if you can help it. 2. Don’t look at her arse in that skirt. 3. Don’t ever – ever – tell Jasmine that you love her. He should’ve added another rule: do not, under any circumstances, let Jas move into your house. Now Rahul is living with the friend that he can’t have, and it’s decimating his control. He knows their shared dinners aren’t dates, the late-night kisses as a mistake, and the tenderness in Jasmine’s gaze is only temporary. One wrong word could send his skittish best friend running. So why is he tempted to risk it all?
As always with Talia’s book, I love how she manages to write diverse characters, serious subjects, sexuality and mental health. I love her for it. In this book we have a son who is grieving over his father and trying to be the head of the household and definitely some form of mental health issue with the control aspect. Then you have a daughter who had been abandoned by his mother, which in turns makes her not be able to trust anyone and she struggles to form friendships or relationships that she only uses people for sex and that sex is a transactional thing. I liked the fact that Jasmine wasn’t ashamed about the fact that she likes hook up and that sex is a healthy thing. I liked the character development that happened individually and the fact that Rahul was learning to ease control and to speak his mind and that Jasmine learned how to trust people and to also speak her mind.
Just like the other books in this series, I felt like it was a bit rushed compared to the Brown Sisters Series and I felt like Jasmine's attraction suddenly came out of nowhere once she slept with Rahul. I would like a bit more of a slow-burn especially with them living together. I would have loved for some jealously to be a part of it. Like Rahul is seen with someone and Jasmine gets jealous. But it’s all just came from Rahul being jealous over a bartender talking to Jasmine.
I will carry on reading Talia’s work old or new no matter what and hopefully I will enjoy the next series or book that I will read of hers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
bubblybuttercup's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
fun book! there were j a lot of little things i didn’t like that made it chip away to a 2.75.
for me, my two main problems were how i didn’t like how the female protag’s flaws were portrayed, the “relationship period” was montaged, except for one date, and not acknowledging that they could love each other platonically at first.
however my positives were that the flashbacks were v effective in painting their friendship — it was believable and i loved them! and i really liked how the end highlighted both of their flaws and how they worked to improve them.
i think a big thing for me was drawing parallels to hibbert’s take a hint, dani brown which is a much better version of this.
i wouldn’t read the roommate risk again, but i was happy w my time w it!
for me, my two main problems were how i didn’t like how the female protag’s flaws were portrayed, the “relationship period” was montaged, except for one date, and not acknowledging that they could love each other platonically at first.
however my positives were that the flashbacks were v effective in painting their friendship — it was believable and i loved them! and i really liked how the end highlighted both of their flaws and how they worked to improve them.
i think a big thing for me was drawing parallels to hibbert’s take a hint, dani brown which is a much better version of this.
i wouldn’t read the roommate risk again, but i was happy w my time w it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism and Abandonment
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
wandering_seal's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow, what a delight this story is. I was unprepared for the amount of angst, the yearning, the knowing looks and the holding back and honestly, it's perfect. Such a good read.
I think this is my favourite Talia Hibbert book yet? Tonally it's a lot more serious than other books of hers I've read, and I appreciated that. Pining isn't always a healthy thing to do, and this story really explored that. Our MCs are not in a healthy place, and getting together isn't going to fix that. They heal because they learn to see themselves for who they really are, which allows them space to be with one another. Awesome book. Absolutely recommend.
I think this is my favourite Talia Hibbert book yet? Tonally it's a lot more serious than other books of hers I've read, and I appreciated that. Pining isn't always a healthy thing to do, and this story really explored that. Our MCs are not in a healthy place, and getting together isn't going to fix that. They heal because they learn to see themselves for who they really are, which allows them space to be with one another. Awesome book. Absolutely recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
dreezy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Grief and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
sarahyjackson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
An absolutely perfect read: friends to lovers, SEVEN YEARS OF PINING, forced proximity, bossy in the bedroom shy accountant MMC, & a really thoughtful exploration of attachment and family of origin impact. And honey the SPICE. The scene outside the arcade?🥵🥵🥵Rahul & Jasmine 4ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment and Alcohol
peachani's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Abandonment and Injury/Injury detail
abookwormspov's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
mayareadsxo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
weelasswithabook's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
CW graphic sexual content, parental abandonment, death of a parent, alcoholism/alcohol dependency
🌟 Friends to lovers
🌟 BIPOC Interracial romance
🌟 Forced proximity/flatmates
🌟 Cinnamon roll hero
🌈 Queer heroine
🌈 Black heroine
🌈 Muslim hero
She just never misses, does she?
I absolutely adored this friends to lovers novel about two best friends who have been forced to room. Rahul has is BAAAAAAD. If you live for a pining hero, then this is right up your street.
Sometimes a friends to lovers after a decade of pining can give "he's friends with her because he thinks he has a shot", but this was done so expertly that it was clear he was trying his best, he never pushed boundaries or disrespected her, and he genuinely continued to be her ride or die bestie.
Jasmine broke my heart, not gonna lie, her sense of self worth and being deserving of love tore me up. But she was just so good and she just couldn't see it 😭
This had such a perfect balance of sweet and tender moments, gut wrenching sad moment, hella spicy moments, and laugh out loud moments. It's hard to fit all of that into less than 400 pages without letting something drop somewhere, and it had it all in abundance. Plus a mini insight into codependency between friends and/or lovers was thrown in there too.
You need to read this if you love a solid friends to lovers book, where the friendship is literally a genuine friendship. If the prickly heroine and cinnamon roll hero due is your favourite combo, it's also ideal because they're so unbelievably different, but they just work so well!!!
🌟 Friends to lovers
🌟 BIPOC Interracial romance
🌟 Forced proximity/flatmates
🌟 Cinnamon roll hero
🌈 Queer heroine
🌈 Black heroine
🌈 Muslim hero
She just never misses, does she?
I absolutely adored this friends to lovers novel about two best friends who have been forced to room. Rahul has is BAAAAAAD. If you live for a pining hero, then this is right up your street.
Sometimes a friends to lovers after a decade of pining can give "he's friends with her because he thinks he has a shot", but this was done so expertly that it was clear he was trying his best, he never pushed boundaries or disrespected her, and he genuinely continued to be her ride or die bestie.
Jasmine broke my heart, not gonna lie, her sense of self worth and being deserving of love tore me up. But she was just so good and she just couldn't see it 😭
This had such a perfect balance of sweet and tender moments, gut wrenching sad moment, hella spicy moments, and laugh out loud moments. It's hard to fit all of that into less than 400 pages without letting something drop somewhere, and it had it all in abundance. Plus a mini insight into codependency between friends and/or lovers was thrown in there too.
You need to read this if you love a solid friends to lovers book, where the friendship is literally a genuine friendship. If the prickly heroine and cinnamon roll hero due is your favourite combo, it's also ideal because they're so unbelievably different, but they just work so well!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
reads2cope's review against another edition
4.5
Wish I had read this rather than listened to it, but the audiobook was available from my library (LOVE YOU LIBBY) before the eBook. The book was read by an older white British man (Matthew Lloyd Davies/Cornell Collins), despite the two POVs being a Black British woman and a British-Indian man in their late 20s. The narrator made Rahul sound like an Indian grandpa. The Indian accent was actually offensive - not only was it pretty clear that Rahul grew up in England, but the accent was inconsistent and strange. I thought it couldn’t get worse, but then I heard how he voiced Rahul’s mom and whatever that accent was that he gave Pinal. However, I love Talia Hibbert, so I powered through and totally enjoyed the story and characters. I plan to reread as a physical or eBook in the future!
I normally take a star off for a third-act breaks up, but this one was handled so well I was almost convinced they needed it!
I normally take a star off for a third-act breaks up, but this one was handled so well I was almost convinced they needed it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail